Louisiana SHRM 2013 Recap

I'm a month behind in posting my recap and I 100% blame it on my new employer.  I'm delighted to be in a job that has me very busy with traveling, training, and dealing with issues all day long.  My evenings and weekends have filled up with catching up on family matters so this is the first opportunity I've had in a long time to sit and review the events.  Here we go.

Pre-Conference
Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar is a small diner in downtown Baton Rouge where the LA SHRM party started. Here I was able to meet Jennifer McClure, Bryan Wempen, Doug Shaw and many others for the first time.  HR gurus that I've admired from across social media platforms and now able to know face to face.  We sat to eat,  have drink, and converse together before heading to a place called Teddy's Juke Joint.  Way out in Zachary, Louisiana this was "a dive" if I've ever seen one.  Covered in mardi gras beads, snarky signage, and listening to soulful music the party continued until the wee hours of the morning.

The next morning a small contingent of us (Dwane Lay, Doug Shaw, Douglas Schooling, and I) drove up to St. Francisville, Louisiana for a bit of golfing at The Bluffs.  I'm not a golfer and chose to drive the cart and enjoy the beautiful scenery while watching the guys crack at the ball. After about 9 holes, I drove back to Baton Rouge to start the first session of the conference, Jennifer McClure's session on Using Social Media in HR & Recruiting.   A discussion about social media and it's important in today's HR world, McClure is vibrant and encourages HR professionals to integrate social media in their processes.

Day One
Bright and early on Monday morning the conference started off with some great announcements from National SHRM (some great new initiatives) and Louisiana SHRM, including the new Louisiana SHRM logo!

Dwane Lay Keynote Session: Changing Culture: The Impossible, The Possible, and Living on the Difference
Starting off with a key note was Dwane Lay about "Changing Culture: The Impossible, The Possible, and Living on the Difference." Always charismatic and keeping the audience engaged, Dwane's discussion on being a change agent was enlightening. He discussed about how we're resistant to change but the things you are not allowed to talk about can be the most important things to change. The morale of Dwane Lay's keynote: brand marketing matters when it comes to company culture.  "Change is a function of norms, values, symbols, technology, and language."

Top Tips for Employers to Avoid FLSA Misclassifications - Brooke Duncan III
Next session I attended focused on FLSA and misclassifications that frequently occur.  Duncan started off with saying, "Classifying someone as an independent contractor in title alone doesn't allow you to win that battle." Duncan recommends contracts for the independent contractors and emphasized the government's strong lean towards catching employers in FLSA misclassification scandals.  Louisiana State Department of Labor has authority to run investigations on behalf of IRS - they have some serious repercussions in our state. Duncan recommends businesses getting EPLI (Employment Practices Liability Ins.) that helps against violations and penalties.

The Future of HR: Delivering Competitive Advantage in Your Organization - Jennifer McClure

McClure Started off on the history of Human Resources - from Lena Harvey, "Welfare Manager" - she was the "mother" of the office to present. Times have changed from recruiting people who operate machinery to global, more knowledgeable employees. McClure put a huge emphasis on HR peeps becoming data analysts saying "Is what you're measuring past focused or future focused?" She said that being strategic is not a noun.  McClure encourages HR peeps to be a problem solver and learning how decisions impact the business.  Be the HR professional who is strategic focused and involved in operations side of the business. McClure gave huge shout outs to her tops influential HR people:  @jrkuhns, @TrishMcFarlane, @jessica_lee, @beneubanks, and @Victorio_M.  

Understanding the Business Impacts of Health Care Reform on Your Organization – Michael Bertaut, MBA, CHC, PAHM, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana

Bertaut's session on the Affordable Health Care Act was enlightening and really confirmed what many HR professionals feel - healthcare is about to get crazy. Bertaut says word of mouth and  media will be getting the word out about exchanges. The public will get blasted with info very soon. The exchanges will will ask for income information and then connect to IRS for tax returns to verify income level. Bertaut warns to look out for common law employees as it is defined as anyone who perform services for you. Their hours go into FTE bucket and this can includes independent contractors. To defend yourself on ACA standards, Bertaut says to 1) prove you are a small company 2) prove the employee isn't eligible 3) prove that you made an offer to EE but it was waived. Bertaut ended with saying that in 2015 IRS will have an increase of tax credit paperwork to deal with due to eligibility issues with employees. 

Building Social HR Leadership - Doug Shaw, CEO/Founder, What Goes Around

Doug Shaw's session on social leadership was brilliant and chock full of nuggets of wisdom.  Starting off with effective communication Doug talks about e-mail and how it is an ineffective method of communication, relying to heavy on the receiver to understand the message. Shaw encourages HR people to be authentic at work and being inclusive towards diverse thoughts and methods. He recommends simplifying processes and uses Nordstrom's employee handbook as an example. Using The World Cafe Method gather data through conversations with employees, have a conversation about "How can I make work better?"  "It's a great way to get buy in!" Shaw says. Shaw goes on to say that trust is where what you say and what you do meet, so to make sure you focus on both.

Day Two

Starting off in a general assembly with a wobble dance to get the crowd going, Whitney Breaux (our emcee) did a short Q&A with Dwane Lay and a sing-a-long from Doug Shaw. 

What’s Wrong with Your Internal Communication Strategy -- and How to Make It Right - Mary Ellen Slayter, Reputation Capital Media Services 

A public relations and marketing expert, Mary Ellen Slayter starts off a great session on communication with emphasizing that employee's won't know what you want unless it's communicated. She recommends thinking like a marketer and deciding who is your target audience, how do they communicate, and what do they want to hear.  Slayter gives tips on communicating by 1) making it continuous 2) making it clear and 3) tailor it. Create a calendar for communication and utilize social media, blogs, etc. instead of just email and print. Lastly, Slayter recommends strategically planning Hr communications in a clear effective way. 

How to Master FMLA Compliance - Vicki Crochet, Taylor Porter
A interactive session with Vicki Crochet, FMLA Compliance is a necessary evil in the world of HR.  Crochet did an excellent job of teaching this session by giving real world situations and asking HR professional how they should be handled  Crochet recommends avoiding FMLA retaliation claims by educating supervisors, being aware of timing and having legitimate reasons for any discipline.

The 'Cult' of Work - Bill Boorman
Lastly, wrapping up the conference was Bill Boorman and his session on "culture." In the changing world we live in the workplace culture has become a necessity for hiring and retaining employees.  Boorman states that there isn't any such thing of bad culture only a bad culture fit.  Employees are more likely to be hired and stick with jobs that best fit their culture needs.  To understand your workplace culture Boorman recommends talking to the employees.  Each location, department will have it's own subcultures, discover what those are.  In order to build up culture Boorman suggests allowing employees to have a channel to talk about the company, communal spaces for employees to interact, and a recognition program the rewards beyond monetary.

Recap

Throughout the conference I spent much of my free time on the "Social Media Street' where I helped HR professionals get educated on Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc.  While live tweeting from the conference I couldn't help but notice that the theme of this year's conference was about culture and change.  A prominent theme that i'm seeing in the world of HR is that the "old world" view of human resources as the personnel person is obsolete.  Instead HR professionals are needing to "move with the times" by integrating social media, learning to thinking strategically, getting involved in operations, and becoming a change agent. 

A Balanced HR Partnership Can Impact the Bottom-Line (Guest post by Chris Ponder)

Flip to any HR site, blog, or article and you are likely to see someone discussing the role HR should play in today’s workplace. The discussion of HR’s role in the organization has been the talk for over a decade with HR department reviews ranging from driving the business forward to destructive, compliance police.
In the years that I have worked in human resources, I have had the opportunity to experience HR from many of the facets authors write about the profession and the emotion that comes along when my profession is being ripped apart by someone is mixed. In one regard, I can understand what the author wrote because I live it each and every single day. However on the other hand, it infuriates me because I know the profession is not always like this. Especially when there are intelligent, passionate people out there making a difference with the profession – and I like to think I am one of those people.

Recounting on my time in human resources, there are several partnerships to the business I have witnessed to include:  compliance, strategic/business, issue resolver, and people engager.

Compliance
Working in human resources one is sure to know that compliance is going to be incorporated at some point. However, some organizations have geared the HR function to solely be focused on compliance – moving to a means of utilizing HR staff to conduct HR audits and serve as compliance police if I-9s are not completed correctly, payroll files are off, or postings are missing.

It is important to know that compliance is needed and should be followed to assist the organization from floating into unnecessary risk, but it should not be what HR is 100% known for.

Strategic/Business Partner
Anytime HR can serve in a strategic/business partner perspective is great. In fact, more and more organizations are seeking out this type of partnership with HR staff; unfortunately, this skill set is one not so strong by many HR professionals. The reasons can range from lack of experience to professionals not wanting to get involved with the business.

I will be one to tell you that business acumen is a crucial skill for any HR professional to be actively sought after for guidance/support. Knowing how HR and HR initiatives can be incorporated into the business and drive the business forward is a must. Yet, don’t let the bottom line be a detractor to the human capital HR should work to engage, develop, coach, and lead. Additionally, focusing just on the bottom line can result in missing the small details which can have a big financial impact on the organization if not managed.

Issue Resolver
Many times in my career, I have had managers come to me or send employees my way to resolve an issue. Funny thing is, most of the time the manager could have resolved the issue, but they in turn wanted to pass the buck to the typical “issue resolver”  in the organization.

All employees within the organization should be empowered to assist with resolving problems or issues. Depending on the severity is when HR may need to step in.

People Engager
Engagement of employees can make or break an organization, but when did HR become the sole owner of engaging people? The answer, when HR allows it too. Again, just like with resolving issues, everyone should own the role of engaging employees in an organization.

Wrap it All Up:  Balanced Partnership
HR serving in a singular capacity – compliance, strategic/business partner, issue resolver, people engager, etc. –  does not develop professionals and it doesn’t drive the true impact HR can make on an organization.
Instead, from my experience in the profession, HR should encompass all these facets forming a balanced partnership to impact the bottom-line for the positive.

Serving in a business partner capacity works to align the HR agenda with the organizational goals to drive business, engage employees, manage compliance, and resolve issues timely so as to create a competitive, sustainable, workplace.

So if you find yourself in a situation where your HR function is simply a compliance officer or issue resolver, stretch yourself to increase your business acumen, partner with business leaders to analyze needs, and create, lead, and implement initiatives that push you, the business, and its employees.

Chris Ponder II is a human resources professional who has harnessed his human resources knowledge and experience across the casino, retail, and service industries, where he has challenged people to think outside of the traditional “thought box” and strive for something unique by pushing thoughts and actions to a different scale – the extreme.

Stifled by just limiting this extreme thinking and passion to the four corners of the office, Chris created XtremeHR. However, he quickly began to discover the opportunity of a group of people sharing their passion was even better, which lead to the creation of Performance I Create.
Knowing the value social media can bring, he continues to be an advocate for trench HR professionals to take a leap with social media and utilize its capabilities to grow both professionally and personally. Follow him on Twitter at @ChrisPonder.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned at Work

So I'm leaving one job and starting another.  It's a great move and very much a career opportunity for the better (I hope). Essentially at my previous position I was in transactional HR and while I'll still be doing some of that mostly it will be employee relations which is truly where I'm passionate about HR.

Now that I'm leaving one job and going to another, I thought I would take time for reflection of all my past experience.  I'm a firm believer in no right or wrongs but instead - everything is a life lesson.  And boy I've had some great life lessons from each of my employers. Here they are:

It's All About People:
My earliest employment was a non-profit organization.  I started in customer service and over my many years there I learned how to develop relationships   The organization sent me to trainings to learn and how to train others on relationship building.  I was also a part of their scholarship program, which gave me purpose and direction with the mission of the organization.  I truly believe in helping people be the best they can be.

People Won't Like You:
A small construction company ended up not working out for me, but before I left there I found out that I was being teased and talked about behind my back.  Some of it due to a personality mismatch and some due to my personal beliefs.  I was crushed at the time, but came to realize that at that point in time I was trying to be a "people pleaser."  A very valuable lesson to remember - people won't always like you. Get over it.

Don't Burn Bridges:
A small marketing company with a handful of employees and I was the office manager.  I interviewed and was hired for this job in the same day and that should have been my first warning, but I was young and needed a job so I didn't care.  The owner was a elderly woman, old school in her methods, and just someone who was generally annoying.  I didn't like her, (with rare exceptions) I didn't like who I worked with, and I was bored in the job, plus I finished my undergraduate during this time and wanted to move on to bigger/better.  I found another job and had given my notice, but about a week into my notice my boss found out (I still don't know how) that I had been bad mouthing her to employees.  So she asked me to leave that day.  I felt awful.  While I really wasn't interested in maintaining any type of relationship with her or the company, my actions were horrendous.  I shouldn't have left things that way.  Regardless of my needs, I shouldn't treat people (her and the employees) in such a terrible manner.

When it's Bad, Run!
Another small company I worked for I was hired to work directly with the CEO and essentially be a go-to-gal for any administrative needs.  Sounds fun right?  About a week into I found out that the company was deep in debt.  About a million in.  The owner was having to foreclose one of his houses to be able to meet payroll. It wasn't a good situation.  So, I left there quickly! Now I've learned to do my research, ask questions, and don't be afraid to walk away from a job when it's not an ideal situation.

Being in Charge is Fun:
Thus far one of my favorite and most successful positions was with a large national radio company and I handled HR and business office. Besides the General Manager and Sales Director, I was right up there with the big dogs, making decisions, planning, implementing, etc. People came to me with issues to solve, I had control over budgets, freedom to come and go, trust from my colleagues and corporate office.  I made a name for myself.  Even though the above job was fun, I didn't really interact with my employees or colleagues very much because I wanted to keep everything professional.  At that time I was a firm believer in keeping personal and professional lives separate. A bankruptcy, and sale to another radio company happened and then you guessed it - layoff, put me back on the market. Being in charge is very fun and rewarding - but it can also be very demanding and in some cases you can miss out on personal relationships.

Be Yourself:
I quickly found a small online retailer that needed "a person."  Essentially I was brought on to work with the CEO on some projects that just needed to get done.  Most of it being good HR practices (new employee orientation  training, recruitment, job descriptions, etc.).  Upon entering this culture I quickly came to realize that people here were laid back. Where my previous job was professional (suit and tie, all about work), this job was jeans and lots of water cooler convo.  So I learned to let my guard down and release my inner nerd/geek.  What I found out was, people understand and respect you more when you're just yourself.

Occasionally You Will Fail & Know Thyself:
This small company that I'm now leaving needed an HR Manager, their first.  Upon entering the company I was full of vigor and ideas to really get them rolling with some great practices.  Through a culmination of events I quickly learned - I wasn't doing the job they hired me for.  They needed a solid foundation of transactional HR and I was trying to fill the strategic planning/operations void that I felt they needed.  Essentially there was a disconnect. Prior to this position I never really had a "fear of losing my job" and it is a life (and work) experience I think everyone should undertake.  It truly humbles you, makes you introspective, and helps to make you grow as a person. The good news is that I wasn't ever let go and I continued to work for them but there was still that disconnect.  My goals/needs as an employee just didn't match their goals/needs as a company.  And that's okay! It just means that one of us needs to nut up and say goodbye so that we can all move on and get where we need to go.

The next gig is going to have some serious lessons too I'm sure.  And with a little bit of luck and hard work I won't be writing a post about this one cause I'll continue to work with them for years to come.  *fingers crossed* But what I know about all this is - my mistakes, their mistakes, and everything in between has brought me to be the career woman I am today.  I don't regret a single job, a single boss, a single employee cause each one has taught me something important.  Overall, it's all about the people will deal with every day - they are our greatest teachers.